Man arrested for defending from Arab attackers

After Arabs attack a group of tourists in Akko, one man was detained for pulling out his gun in defense.

Reut Hadar, 22/08/16 18:47

Akko

Flash 90

A group of tourists, including children, was attacked today in the Old City of Akko today by a group of Arabs.

The Arabs tried to push the hikers from a high wall within the Old City such that one of the tourists, a career soldier, was forced to pull out his gun to defend the other hikers.

After the incident, the soldier - of all people - was taken into the local police station for questioning, and his weapon was confiscated. Attorney Adi Kedar of the Honenu Legal Rights Organization is providing legal council to the soldier.

"We were touring inside the Old CIty, when suddenly an Arab youth came up to us and threatened to push us off the wall to the ground below. We're talking about a high wall - 12 meters. After several minutes more men and youth joined the Arab youth; one of them actually tried to push members of our group from the wall and endanger their lives.

"I and another of my friends were forced to jump to the lower rampart so that we wouldn't fall in the direction of the sea and rocks below," one of the hikers related.

"In response to the attack, one of my friends in the group who is a career soldier was forced to pull out his gun to fend off the attackers and protect the group from harm. The police detained him and confiscated his weapon; we are on our way to the station to testify regarding the matter," he said.

At this moment, the members of the group are at the police station in Akko filing a complaint against the Arab attackers. Attorney Adi Kedar of Honenu said of the incident,"We're talking about a scandal: a group of tourists is attacked, a soldier is forced to pull out his gun to defend his life and those of his comrades - and finds himself under investigation.

"It's a pity that police are again taking a stance at an early stage and are detaining suspects without having clarified the details of the incident. I am certain that [the soldier] will be freed soon. I hope that those that perpetrated the incident and the threats will be arrested and brought to justice."